057 - How Would Your Life Be Better if You Were in The Best Shape Of Your Life?

08/13/19 • 25 min

So for today's episode, I wanted to do something a little different. I decided to share the results of a survey I sent out to the Fit Dad Nation with the question "how would your life be better if you were in the best shape of your life?"

It was an anonymous survey and I asked each man for their honest feedback.

The response was awesome and within a few hours, we had a ton of survey answers with some quality feedback. And as I read through them, I saw a few trends repeating over and over.

Things like "having more confidence", "being a better role model for my kids", and "having more energy" were the most common answers.

Also things like "living longer", "not worrying about my health", and "having a better outlook on life" were mentioned and these are monumentally important things.

I had also asked the men to tell me what kind of shape they were in on a scale from 1-10 and the overwhelming response came in at the midway mark, between 4-6. That's f*cked up.

Think about that. The vast majority of men in the 35-45 year old range are living at an average to below average fitness level. It kills me to read through some of these answers and see how much dads are struggling and how so many obstacles are getting in their way to better health.

This is an immensely important topic and I've decided to take a new direction with my content going forward in an effort to better help the men who need it most.

It was an anonymous survey and I asked each man for their honest feedback.

The response was awesome and within a few hours, we had a ton of survey answers with some quality feedback. And as I read through them, I saw a few trends repeating over and over.

Things like "having more confidence", "being a better role model for my kids", and "having more energy" were the most common answers.

Also things like "living longer", "not worrying about my health", and "having a better outlook on life" were mentioned and these are monumentally important things.

I had also asked the men to tell me what kind of shape they were in on a scale from 1-10 and the overwhelming response came in at the midway mark, between 4-6. That's f*cked up.

This is an immensely important topic and I've decided to take a new direction with my content going forward in an effort to better help the men who need it most.

Previous Episode

056 - 13 Bullsh*t Fitness Myths That Are Wasting Your Time and Money

In today's show, I talk about, and dispel, 13 few fitness myths that are still around and still causing you to waste your time, money, and energy. And it pisses me off.

Some of these myths have been around for years and are readily accepted as truth. Others were born from savvy marketers preying on ignorant consumers looking for help with their health and fitness.

My hope is that this shows opens your eyes to some things that will help you better understand how to get into shape and stay there.

Here are the 13 myths:

Weight loss is the goal. This is wrong. In fact, scale weight loss should rarely, if ever, be your goal. Fat loss is the goal.
The Keto diet is the best way to lose weight. While the Keto can be a great tool for weight loss, it's not for everyone and VERY difficult to sustain.
Flexible dieting is the best way to eat. This approach can work very well but too many people use their flexibility to eat crap foods.
Intermittent fasting gives you an excuse to pig out and eat whatever you want. Nope. Just because you have a shorter eating window doesn't mean you get a free pass to stuff your face with anything you want. Quality and quantity are still critical.
No (legal) supplements are going to help you with your fitness goals if you aren't covering the basics of good health first.
If you can't do a full workout, don't do it at all. In my opinion, something, regardless of how little, is still better than nothing. Plus, doing something creates the habit of showing up.
Spot reduction is possible. Just no.
Fitness gadgets can help you get fit faster. 99% of these are marketers trying to make a buck off of "hot" markets.
Cardio is the best way to lose weight. I hate this. Cardio, as in walking/jogging on a treadmill for a length of time, is good for your health yes. However, it's a waste of time if your main goal is fat loss.
The "fat burning zone" is the best way to lose weight. Instead of burning a slightly higher percentage of calories from fat using low intensity work, ramp up the intensity and burn more total calories.
Machines are safer than free weights. I'd argue the exact opposite.
Ab exercises will give you abs. If you're too fat, they won't show regardless of how many crunches you do.
Muscle confusion is the best way to make your muscles grow. It can be beneficial yes but having a benchmark to gauge your progress is very important.

Next Episode

058 - The Simplest Way To Lose Your Dad Bod

It's no secret that many dads in their 30's and 40's are overweight and carry the "dad bod" around with them. The term has become synonymous with a soft, flabby body, a little (or big) beer belly, and an overall lack of muscle tone.

Whatever we want to call it though, it's not sexy, hip, or in fashion, despite what social media is saying. I'd argue that it's the exact opposite. It's unhealthy and I've never met a woman who said she'd rather have her husband look like a bag of wet donuts over being lean and muscular.

And despite what we're being sold online and in the fitness community, losing weight, getting stronger and more muscular, and taking your health back, isn't complicated. In fact, it's pretty f*cking easy.

We weren't put on this Earth to be fat, slow, and weak yet that's exactly what's happened to us. And my advice, if you honestly want to change that, is to focus on a handful of core principles of good health.

And be ruthlessly consistent with them. Not two weeks. Not two months. Not two years. Make it a long-term thing. As in your whole life.

Here's what to do:

Train with weights
Use some kind of HIIT training
Do dedicated mobility work every day
Stop eating like an as*hole
Eat fewer calories than you need if your goal is fat loss
Get more sleep, 7-8 hours at least
Drink at least half your bodyweight in ounces of water
Manage your stress
Find your "why"
Put yourself first

If you want to live longer and with a higher quality of life, you need to get your fitness in order. It HAS to become a priority and you need to make yourself #1.

Our private community, the Fit Dad Nation Inner Circle, is where we use accountability, challenges, the power of tribe to do just that. The men in the Inner Circle are improving their eating, habits, mindset, and bodies one day at a time and are working together to make it happen. Join us at FDNIC.com